Starting a business or creative project is scary for many reasons, but one that is often overlooked is the anxiety related to whether this is really “the one.” To some, this isn’t a valid consideration while to others this is the only consideration. Some argue that what you work on, along with who you work with are the two most pivotal decisions you’ll make and so we’ve asked folks to tell us about how they came up with their ideas and how they knew this idea was the one.

Savana Herman

The idea for my business had dual inspirations. Initially, it arose from my own frustrations as a consumer searching for stylish yet durable and budget-friendly gold jewelry. Read more>>

Jacqueline Valdez

I’ve had about 6 years of experience doing accounting for a painting company prior to the job I had at the time. The current job I had was doing bookeeping related tasks including managing Quickbooks for a produce company. Read more>>

Kris Dunlap

My daughter Amber and I were sitting outside one summer and started talking about how much we loved going up north to our cabin on the lake. We also realized that while we saw a lot of merchandise in our state that focused on “lake life,” no one featured cabins. Read more>>

Rosemary Orok Oyo

As a young girl in college who was running a ready made clothing business in Nigeria, my dream was to own my clothing brand in other to showcase my culture and creativity but I didn’t know how to start. Read more>>

Regina Hamlett

My mom and I had been making our own Lavender Body/Skin care products for a couple of years. In 2020, like so many others, I was laid off from my School Admin job and found myself, as a single mom with 4 daughters, looking at what I really wanted to do in life. Read more>>

Jasmine Simmons

Totally AUsome, Totally Jace (TauTJace) is dedicated to my four year old autistic son Jaceion affectionately known as “Jace”. Our motto is to Accept, Love, Advocate, and Educate. Read more>>

Jay Van Raalte

I started teaching almost by accident. Growing up, I attended a Montessori school, where multi-grade classrooms encouraged students to help each other while learning themselves. Read more>>

Brad Williams

Some things just fall into your lap. My friend was starting a coffee shop and Church and State needed someone to help them coordinate weddings and events. We started to brainstorm and thought it would be fun to throw our own events. Read more>>

Adam Gremp

My business partner and I came up with the idea for NeuConnections when he was going through his own ketamine therapy journey. After struggling with alcohol addiction for decades and seeing how psychedelics had helped me in my journey, he went down similar paths with varying degrees of success. Read more>>

Amanda Brandon

Color Glo was founded by my grandfather, Everett C. Smith in 1975 Color Glo began franchising in 1982. Everett was a veteran of the United States Airforce with a vision and determination to make that dream a reality. Read more>>

Carmen Jover

It wasn’t the first time I wrote a story. When I was studying Law at the University, I wrote about three stories that I self-published and sold to acquaintances. Read more>>

Joseph Elvis Akwaah Lamptey

My newest baby Kaya, a multi vendor B2B Marketplace began not from Silicon Valley but in the bustling heart of Birmingham where my co-founder Samuel and I were having conversations over drinks and barbecue on our shared vision to empower businesses back in Africa. Read more>>

Nahid Akter

My story of business begain with personal experience, societal need, and a keen observation of the market landscape. The idea begain when I was pregnant during COVID. Read more>>

Anthony Ingle

My name is Tony aka Dj Afro-Nica. My name means AfroNicaraguan.My parents and most of my family are from Nicaragua. I came up with the concept of Dj Afro-Nica when I was a counselor for youths from the inner city of Miami. Read more>>

Courtney Johnson

Junky Glam wasn’t planned at all. It actually took me by surprise. It was a little while before Valentine’s Day and I’m one of those people who NEVER has a valentine. Read more>>

Zander Fieschko

An octopus has a brain in every tentacle, but all eight work towards a common goal through various tasks. When I take on a project, I collect my current interests and the tools at my disposal and see if I can will them into a purpose. Read more>>

Rupesh Poudel

In 2008, my extended family in Kathmandu, Nepal, established a specialty tea business, This happening exposed me to the world of Specialty tea. It wasn’t until around 2012 that I truly began to grasp the subtle nuances and exceptional quality of specialty teas from the Himalayas of Nepal, starkly distinct from the mass-produced CTC or teas like Lipton’s. Read more>>

Perry Clarke

It start with my family instilling in me to take pride in your appearance. How you dress says a lot about you and your personality. The outside world pays attention to that. So through out my life I took pride in my appearance. Read more>>

Seven Dunbar

I started working in recording studios around 1996. I was fortunate enough during my career to work in a variety of different facilities , Large Studios, Small Studios, Studios geared toward different types off music, as well as Film and corporate clients. Read more>>

Meg Havens Obenauf

Growing up I️ was always intent on having my own style, pairing cowboy boots with large belts and dresses and wanted to set my own fashion trends. I️ also loved any kind of art, because of the freedom that it gave me to express myself. Read more>>

Abbey McGrew

I always knew that I wanted to be a graphic designer, but I never planned on starting my own design studio. I went to college for design and I assumed that after graduating, I would get a job at a cool agency or a magazine. Read more>>

Hilary DeGidio

I knew before even going to cosmetology school that I wanted to focus on curly hair. From my own personal experience struggling with my curls, I knew that there was a huge unmet need for curl stylists. Read more>>

Nolan Wright

The genesis of “Recess Games USA” was born out of a deeply personal journey—one of recovery, hope, and the quest for joy without the crutch of mind-altering substances. Read more>>

Meraj Sirajuddin

I use to take pictures as a hobby and somebody ask me one day, if I would take pictures for the event for pay. So it started from there. Read more>>

La’Don Williams

When I first got to college I was lost about what I wanted to do in life and by extension I was lost about why I was even at college. Read more>>